Tepache is a famous Mexican drink that is gaining ground throughout the world. Today, if you visit bars and restaurants often, you will see these drinks sold on all the shelves. This is because many people are now open to the benefits that come with drinking tepache. It is a fizzy, fruity beverage that was once made for the streets in Mexico but now it is found in high-end places around the world. The drink has become a favorite for most people due to its non-alcoholic nature and mainly because of the nutritional value it adds.
What is Tepache?
Although it appears in bars and restaurants, many might confuse it for being an alcoholic drink. However, tepache is a simple fermented drink that is produced from pineapple peelings and rinds. Most people compare it to being a light, sweet beer due to its sweetness. Even though the drink is often mistaken for being alcoholic, it contains little to no alcohol, just like its cousin, kombucha. The distinctive flavor of pineapple makes it an ideal ingredient for making tepache.
There are many variations of the drink’s recipe whereby some people add fruits and other spices for additional flavor. However, it has three predominant ingredients including panela (raw cane sugar from Latin America), cinnamon, of course, pineapple. Every part of Mexico makes the drink in its distinctive way, which explains why there are so many different recipes for the same drink.
No matter the recipe, the drink tastes better when chilled and is mainly available on the street. Here, it is placed in a plastic bag with ice and sold with a straw. This packaging makes it a highly portable beverage that quenches your thirst anywhere. This beverage can also be made at home using simple recipes.
History of Tepache
The drink was made during the pre-colonial period in Mexico which makes it centuries old. It is alleged that the original forms of this beverage were either made by the people of Nahua who resided in central Mexico or the Mayans. The latter considered the drink to be sacred and added various aromatics according to the intended purpose.
Tepache is derived from the Nahuatl word tepiatl which means ‘corn drink’. Tepiatl is further broken down to form two words: Tepilt for tender corn and Atl for water. The Nahuatl people hold more influence on the name because tepache stands for stone ground. In simpler terms, it can be translated as a crushed corn drink.
As you can see, the beverage was initially made using corn as a base. As time went by, the recipe evolved to using pineapple pulp as its base. It is purported that the pineapple was added for flavor and as a sweetener whereby only small portions were used due to its unavailability. However, after some time, the trade routes opened up, making pineapple easily accessible and was used mainly to make the beverage. At this time, the pineapple was mainly used to substitute corn as the base of the beverage.
Tepache has gradually risen to popularity just recently because there exists an insufficiently documented history of the drink. This is probably because it was strictly made at home. After all, the natives wanted to avoid the heavy taxation placed on conventional foods and drinks.
Benefits of Tepache
As mentioned, the popularity of this drink is soaring because of its nutritional importance. Aside from being a natural probiotic, it is loaded with nutrients that promote overall wellbeing. These nutrients include manganese, phosphorous, calcium, and vitamin C (which makes it a rich antioxidant). The fermentation process makes the drink good for the gut as it stimulates the development of strains of bacteria needed for the body to digest food properly.
Conclusion
Tepache is a delicious and nutritious beverage that makes many people happy. The different recipes allow you to pick your preferred flavor and enjoy the drink wherever and whenever.
